God has given me this
land through Abraham, what right do you have to say it's yours?

My prophet wrote
the Koran in this holy city and I have the right to live here.

Why don't they just leave us alone?

If we won the war then
we should own the land

I will never stop
battling for my land, even if you think I should.

I belong in Jerusalem.

We are inspected at
every checkpoint for no reason; we just want to pass through.

I want to feel safe; I
don't want to be bombed one day. Check points are my life
insurance, don't you see?

I don't want to cause you any harm, but I
feel that you do.

Do I look like a
terrorist to you?

Not all Israelis kill
the Arabs

Just like all
Palestinians don't kill Israelis

Then why do you hate me?

I can't escape you!
I see you surrounding my home and killing my people!

My brother died
from a shooting, and our people don't kill each other, and I blame
you!

I see you and I see
a terrorist because you killed the ones I loved.

This is my safe haven!
A place where my grandparents came to escape! Can't I be able to
live where my grandfathers chose?

Are they to blame,
then? For destroying my home, my town?

I fight so hard, and I will not stop. I fight
for my land, not for yours.

I don't care of
returning to Jerusalem! I have one goal: to see you gone from here.

The life I live
already will never let me accomplish my future plans, must you add
wood to the fire that burns inside me?

We each have our own responsibilities, but how
we go about them is our way and choice.

I fear the violence. I
see no results coming from it, things that'll let me smile again.

Will there ever be
peace between us?

No, just hatred

When I come to meet
you, I cannot be myself. I must hide behind a mask, not speak my
language. All this so I won't get shot by one of your people.

We are children of
stone! We feel compelled to throw these weapons at you. It's how we
can feel safe and know we're doing something to fight back.

This problem, is it a problem? It has so many
sides, like so many things in our lives.

Another side, my
parents hesitate to send me to your home. A home in the midst of a
terrorist infested region.

Life is uncertain
for me as well! I live here, and I haven't died, why are they
scared?

I see now, that all children are innocent
bystanders. We have limited power and cannot be blamed.

I'm scared. Every
day, every hour, every minute. What will come out of it?

Life is uncertain
for me.

Who is the real winner in all of this? Both
sides die and I see no progress.

I can't meet you so
easily! There are more than just check points between us, don't you
understand? It's a little thing called history.

You

You can't feel my pain, unless you've
experienced it like I have.

I am Israeli,

I am Palestinian.

I deserve respect.

This is a poem I wrote for an assignment with my partner. The regular type is what the Israeli side says (me) the italicized font is what the Palestinian side says (partner) and the bold is what we say together. This was supposed to show the struggles and hardships each side faces over Jerusalem. I really got into it and wrote most of it and ended up being really proud of my work:)

Ty

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